Priceville girls win another area championship, boys finish runner-up

The eighth-ranked Priceville girls won their fifth consecutive area championship by defeating St. John Paul II 60-45 in the Class 4A, Area 13, tournament final.

The Lady Bulldogs fell behind 5-0 to start the game before responding with a 16-4 run. Priceville took a 16-12 lead into the second quarter.

A 7-4 Lady Falcons run to start the second made the score 20-19 with 4:13 left in the first half.

Over the final 4:13 of the first half and the first 1:16 of the third quarter, the Lady Bulldogs outscored St. John Paul II 16- 2 and extended their lead to 36-21.

The Lady Falcons battled back with a 13-0 run to draw within two points, 36-34, with 1:33 left in the third quarter. Over the next four minutes of play, however, the Priceville girls extended their lead to 44-36 with an 8-0 run.

The Lady Bulldogs closed the game by scoring 12 points from the free-throw line, with Lillyan Bloodworth going 11-of-12.

Bloodworth finished with a career-high 14 points to lead Priceville (22-7). Zoey Benson added 12 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks. Leslie Hames had 11 points, five rebounds, and five steals. Lauren Hames scored seven points with five rebounds and two blocks.

The Lady Bulldogs’ defense finished with 17 steals and seven blocks.

BOYS

The Priceville Bulldogs finished runner-up in the Class 4A, Area 13, finals after falling 49-33 to Westminster Christian.

The Bulldogs trailed 11-9 at the end of the first quarter and 20-19 at halftime. They hung close with Westminster after three quarters, trailing 32-31; however, Priceville went cold in the fourth quarter and was outscored 17-2.

Xander Gaines and Elijah Hopkins each finished with eight points for Priceville (22-8). Hopkins hit two three-pointers and dished out four assists.